A pilot study of peripheral blood BDCA-1 (CD1c) positive dendritic cells pulsed with NY-ESO-1 ISCOMATRIX™ adjuvant.

Aim: Pilot clinical trial of NY-ESO-1 (ESO) protein in ISCOMATRIX™ adjuvant pulsed onto peripheral blood dendritic cells (PBDC), to ascertain feasibility, evaluate toxicity and assess induction of ESO-specific immune responses.

Patients & Methods: Eligible participants had resected cancers expressing ESO or LAGE-1 and were at high risk of relapse. PBDC were produced using CliniMACSplus, with initial depletion of CD1c B cells followed by positive selection of CD1c PBDC.

Cancer/testis antigens can be immunological targets in clonogenic CD133+ melanoma cells.

"Cancer stem cells" that resist conventional treatments may be a cause of therapeutic failure in melanoma. We report a subpopulation of clonogenic melanoma cells that are characterized by high prominin-1/CD133 expression in melanoma and melanoma cell lines. These cells have enhanced clonogenicity and self-renewal in vitro, and serve as a limited in vitro model for melanoma stem cells.

Blood dendritic cells generated with Flt3 ligand and CD40 ligand prime CD8+ T cells efficiently in cancer patients.

Flt3 ligand mobilizes dendritic cells (DCs) into blood, allowing generation in vivo of large numbers of DCs for immunotherapy. These immature DCs can be rapidly activated by soluble CD40 ligand (CD40L). We developed a novel overnight method using these cytokines to produce DCs for cancer immunotherapy.